Hamburg part company with coach Markus Gisdol

Following a 2-0 defeat to bottom club Cologne on Saturday, Hamburg head coach Markus Gisdol has been relieved of his duties, with the club just three points off the foot of the Bundesliga standings.

The German coach helped guide Hamburg to safety last season, finishing the 2016/17 season in 14th place, but with the club fighting against relegation once again having suffered a fourth consecutive defeat, the search for a new coach begins.

"No one wants to part with coaches prematurely, but we believe a fresh impetus is desperately needed if we're to realise our season objective of staying in the Bundesliga," explained HSV chairman Heribert Bruchhagen. "We'll unveil his successor soon. A few formalities need ironing out, but we already know who our new coach is going to be."

Gisdol, 48, who was appointed as coach in September 2016, oversaw 52 matches, winning 16, drawing 10 and losing 26 during his time with the club.

Second-bottom Hamburg - the only founding Bundesliga member never to have been relegated - travel to RB Leipzig on Matchday 20 in their next Bundesliga fixture.